The magical Sacred Valley of the Incas, located 15 kilometers from Cusco, is one of the most impressive places to visit in Peru. In this valley of the Andes that is crossed by several rivers, you will find archaeological sites of the ancient Incas, indigenous and colonial peoples and landscapes that will leave you speechless.
This valley was very appreciated by the Incas for its good conditions for agriculture in which taking advantage of the geography, they created a system of terraces to grow their so precious corn.
Among the essential places to see in the Sacred Valley are
- Pisac: The impressive Inca ruins located on a hill, the cultivation terraces and the handicraft market, are enough reasons to visit Pisac.
- Ollantaytambo: This is one of the masterpieces of Inca architecture in which an enormous complex of several floors built on two mountains that had defensive, religious and administrative functions stands out.
- Moray: In this place you can see perfect circular terraces that would have been used by the Incas to experiment with different crops.
- Maras Salt Mines: Thousands of small pools full of water form this ancient salt mine that will leave you a postcard image in your retina.
- Chinchero: This indigenous village is one of the most beautiful in the Sacred Valley. Don’t miss the plaza that sits on top of what was once an Inca palace and the stalls to buy handicrafts that are set up in the surrounding area.
- All these places can be visited with day trips from Cusco being the two most common ones the trip to Pisac and Ollantaytambo and the one that goes through the Salt mines of Maras and
- Moray. In both of them you will have a guide in Spanish and will be picked up from your hotel.
Another option is to use the combi for the longer trips and to get to the entrance of the deposits take a cab.
To save money, we recommend booking the specific tourist ticket for the Sacred Valley area.
